The New Student
by Thanos6
Summary: Videl's gotten around to attending college...but she accidentally ends up in one of the classes Gohan teaches. Let's hope this doesn't disrupt their marital bliss... Part of The Royalty Series!
1. Registration Risk

The New Student  
  
by Thanos6  
  
Legal note: I do not own nor claim to own any of the Dragonball characters.  
  
Hello. Here's yet another Dragonball story set in my Royalty Series. If you've never read any of them, you may want to, otherwise certain situations and characters may be rather confusing. Here's the timeline to date, with "B+ number" meaning how many years after the Buu saga the story takes place:  
  
**Buu**   
  
  
Saiyans On The Road-- B+ 2   
Time Passages-- B+ 2 1/2   
…|   
…--------Gohan And Videl's Bachelor Parties (during the final chapter of Time Passages)  
Tourney Nights-- B+ 3   
The White King And The Black King-- B+ 3 1/2  
The Unexpected Target-- B+ 3 1/2   
Human Blues-- B+ 3 1/2  
The New Student-- B+ 4 (this story)  
  
This story is based mainly around Gohan and Videl (Pan is still a couple of years away from making her entrance), though of course lots of other characters will be appearing. I hope you enjoy it, but even if you don't, please leave a review. Thanks!  
  
***  
  
Gohan crawled into bed, next to his wife of nearly a year, Videl. It was rather early in the morning, and Vegeta had just finished reclaiming the Saiyan kingship from him, which circumstances had forced him to hold for six months.  
  
"Hey," she said drowsily as he pulled the covers back over himself.  
  
"Sorry for waking you up," he replied nearly as sleepily.  
  
"Eh, 's no big deal. What was that all about?"  
  
"V'geta took the crown back. Nappa went with him, back to Capsule Corp."  
  
"Shame. He made a good servant."  
  
"Yep. But at least we have the house to ourselves again." The two of them cuddled close together, Gohan resting his head on her shoulder, Videl planting her face in his hair.  
  
"I'd call that a fair tradeoff."  
  
***  
  
The next day, Videl's father, Mr. Satan, called.  
  
"Hey Dad. What's up?"  
  
"Hello precious. I just wanted to let you know that I have an anniversary present for you."  
  
"Oh, thanks Dad! But it's not for another week."  
  
"I know, but this one has kind of a time limit on it."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You know how you never got around to college?" She nodded, then remembering he couldn't hear that, she murmured. Between the whole mess with Buu, falling in love with Gohan, and becoming the Great Saiyaman Two, going to college had just kind of gotten lost. "Well, I've applied for you to enter several colleges, and we should have their responses back for your anniversary. Of course, I'll pay for it all."  
  
She brought her hand to her mouth. "DAD! Wow...I don't know how to thank you for that."  
  
"No thanks are necessary, just do a good job like I know you will. Well, I gotta go. I love you ."  
  
"Love you too, Dad. Thanks again!"  
  
"You're welcome. Bye."  
  
"Bye." She hung up the phone and, for a moment, she simply stood with her mouth open. Then she rushed into the bedroom where Gohan was rearranging the contents of one of the bookcases. Before he could say anything, she jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around him and knocking him back into the bookcase.  
  
"Uh...is something wrong?"  
  
"Not at all."  
  
***  
  
A week later, the couple had finished unwrapping their anniversary presents. Goku and Chi-Chi had sent over a lavishly prepared multi-course anniversary dinner (to Gohan's partial surprise; it looked like his mother had finally accepted Videl). Vegeta and Bulma had sent two passes for a weekend at a tropical romantic retreat. Kuririn and Juuhachigou had given them Kuririn's old set of battle armor from Namek, as a souvenir of days past. Yamcha and Pu'ar (who themselves had been married a few months) had simply sent flowers, as had Mirai (an older Trunks who had returned from his alternate timeline once and for all) and Jennifer (his lawyer fiancee).  
  
That night, before the 'celebrations' could really begin in earnest, Mr. Satan arrived, with the college admission results.  
  
"Well," he said, "As hard as this is to believe, only one of the colleges accepted you, so I've enrolled you there."  
  
"Which one?" He told her. "DAD!"  
  
"What?"  
  
Gohan spoke up. "Um, that's where I teach."  
  
Mr. Satan shrugged. "Oh, I know. I called them and asked them about that, but they said there was nothing in their rules or regulations about it."  
  
His son-in-law scratched his head. "Actually, I think that's right."  
  
"Good. Oh, I almost forgot! Here's the class sign-up forms. Just give them back to me before you go off this weekend."  
  
Videl nodded. "No problem."  
  
***  
  
She completed and gave her father the forms the day before they left for the tropical romantic retreat, which was heaven. When they got back, Mr. Satan called again; a couple of the classes she had signed up for were full, so she'd been shifted into different time slots.  
  
Next Monday, classes started. She and Gohan flew to the college together, then went their separate ways; he to teach, she to learn. Her first class was philosophy, taught by elderly Professor Rinrigaku. It sounded a bit daunting, perhaps, but she felt she could handle it.  
  
Next was biology. This was one of the classes that had been full, so she didn't know who her professor would be. She waited for a few minutes with the rest of the students (most of whom were several years younger than her), and then the door at the back of the room opened. Her blood chilled as a very familiar voice behind her said five words.  
  
"Hello, everyone! I'm Professor Son!" 


	2. Contracts And Couples

There were few things Gohan enjoyed more than the start of a new semester of classes. The chance to educate a new batch of moldable young minds...finding out who would actually try to learn and who would use his class as a chance to get more sleep, knowing that in many cases he held their fates in his hands...pure fun.  
  
He stood at the top of the center aisle of the auditorium, examining the backs of his students' heads. Some of them he'd had in different classes. A few he simply recognized from around campus. There was one that looked rather familiar, but he couldn't place from where...  
  
"Hello, everyone! I'm Professor Son!" He grinned to himself as the students turned to face him--and stopped dead in his tracks. The student whose back-of-her-head looked rather familiar was his wife. Normally seeing her face was one of the few things he enjoyed more than a new class, but not in this case. His brain fused.  
  
For a long moment, the two simply stared at one another, while the rest of the class wondered what the hell was going on.  
  
"Um," Gohan said, finally rediscovering his speech centers, "There'll be a small delay in class..." He nodded at Videl to follow him, then left the room.  
  
"What the hell?" they both asked each other the moment the door closed.  
  
Gohan ran a hand through his hair. "Some idiot in registration apparently didn't notice that we shared a LAST NAME, or that we're registered as MARRIED TO EACH OTHER, and moved you into my class when the biology you'd signed up for was full. Oh boy, this is not going to be good."  
  
Videl tapped her foot. "Well, let's just suffer through it for today, and then after all of our classes are over, we'll go talk to someone."  
  
"Ok...it's less than an hour, so it shouldn't be too bad."  
  
"You'll do fine." She pulled him to her and gave him a brief kiss. "Now let's get back in there, before they decide to leave." He nodded, and they re-entered the classroom, she returning to her seat, he walking to the podium.  
  
He went through the roll call as normally as he could, hoping that none of his other students would catch the name similarity. He passed out the syllabus, went over it, and asked if anyone had any questions. After he took care of what questions there were, he let everyone leave a few minutes early.  
  
The rest of classes that day weren't nearly as interesting, for either Gohan or Videl. Minus the brain fusing, the rest of Gohan's followed the same pattern. Videl met some more of her professors and picked up more syllabi. Then, when they had both finished, they met at the cafeteria and together went to talk to someone who could fix this mess.  
  
***  
  
"BREACH OF CONTRACT SUIT?!" They both yelled at once. The staff member they were talking to, a weaselly little man named Itachi Nukeana, nodded.  
  
"Yes. You see, every other class you could take in place of biology is full, as is every other biology class. If you don't take this class, then you won't have enough hours to stay in college, and we can't make an exception. And if you don't have enough hours, then you won't be going here and thus we can--and will--hit you with a breach of contract suit." He smiled nastily, showing teeth that were overdue for a brushing. "So I'm afraid, Mrs. Son, that you'll have to stay in your husband's class for this semester."  
  
Videl bared her teeth. "You won't be able to make me stay."  
  
"Oh yes I can. I have college regulations on my side. You can't override those."  
  
"The law can," Gohan replied. The two of them got up to leave.  
  
Nukeana chuckled humorlessly. "The law indeed. Not even the best lawyers in the world could let you win this, and they'd be much more expensive than the suit by itself." He chuckled again as they closed the door.  
  
"Good thing for us," Videl said once the door had finished closing, "That one of the best lawyers in the world is a friend of ours."  
  
***  
  
Gohan rang the doorbell at their friend's house. About thirty seconds later, Jennifer Bengoshi answered the door, looking a bit annoyed, her long red hair a mess, her clothes partially disarrayed. Gohan and Videl exchanged glances. *Looks like we might have interrupted something.*  
  
"Hey. Can I help you?"  
  
"Yeah. We need to talk about something kinda urgent. Can we come in?"  
  
"Sure." They followed her into the living room, where her fiance, Mirai Briefs, was stretched out on the couch in about the same condition as Jennifer; messed up hair (though his was purple and just a little shorter) and clothes. This confirmed their suspicions that they'd been making out, since the alternate older Trunks was too shy to go any farther until after the wedding.  
  
When he saw the couple, he blushed a bit, sat up, and straightened himself out. "Hey guys. What's up?" They started to explain, but Jennifer cut them off.  
  
"Dinner's about ready. Tell us then. Good thing I made extra, and if these two Saiyans can restrain themselves, I think we can make it stretch to serve four."  
  
***  
  
"I see," the lawyer said a few minutes later, after Gohan and Videl had told their story. Dinner was indeed stretching, since both of the half-Saiyans there had learned to reign in their appetites in front of the women they loved.  
  
"Do you think you can help us?" Videl asked.  
  
Jennifer wiped her mouth. "Probably. He's got a good case, there's no denying that, but I bet I can make a better one. I'll teach him not to mess with friends of Jennifer Bengoshi-soon-to-be-Briefs." She winked at Mirai, who smiled.  
  
"I'll have to warn you, though," she continued, "That this could take a while. Even if we end up winning, you might have served an entire semester anyway."  
  
"I don't care," said Gohan. "Even if we win just on principle, that's what matters." His wife nodded, and Jennifer shrugged.  
  
"Well then, I guess I'll take this case for you."  
  
"Thanks! How much do you charge?"  
  
The redhead laughed. "Like I'd charge my friends. Consider this on the house." The two couples finished dinner, talking and laughing all the while. Even though Jennifer and Mirai were several years older than Videl and Gohan, they were best friends anyway. Finally, the evening drew to a close and the Son's decided it was time to leave. As Gohan and Mirai chatted in the driveway, Jennifer grabbed Videl in the doorway.  
  
"This isn't going to be free after all. I want you to do me a favor..." The lawyer whispered in her ear, and the martial artist laughed.  
  
"Can do, can do." Videl bade her goodbye and walked to join her husband. They said farewell to Mirai, then flew off into the air. When they were out of sight, Mirai and Jennifer walked back inside, to the couch.  
  
"Now, where were we?"  
  
***  
  
"Jennifer wants us to do us a favor."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She wants us to tease Mirai as much as she does."  
  
Gohan laughed. "If that's all it takes to nail that bastard Nukeana, it's worth it." 


	3. Teasing And Torts

"Hewwo. Hewwo. This is your big cousin Gohan." He rocked his two month-old relative, Kasaiyoku, in his arms; fortunately for his eardrums, she was drifting off into sleep. He looked up from Raditz and Iroke's daughter at Mirai. "It's kinda weird. My cousin's this young, and physically my uncle's just a couple of years older than me. And on top of that, HE'S about twenty or so years or so older, counting his years in hell, than his wife who's physically the same age." He shook his head.  
  
Mirai snorted. "You think that's weird? I'm fifteen years older than MYSELF." Both men chuckled.  
  
"Is Jennifer around? She wasn't at her house when I called so I thought she might be here, that's why I used Instantaneous Movement to come over." It had been a week since they'd talked to her about the case.   
  
"Yeah, she's on her way. Said she wanted me to look over some of what she's written for the case, so this is really convenient. Shouldn't be long."  
  
"Thanks. Is this the kind of visit where I need to leave?" Gohan grinned at Mirai's reaction, or more accurately lack thereof; he was beginning to get used to the teasing, and had barely blushed at all at this remark.  
  
"Only after you actually leave. We're not exhibitionists, unlike some people I could name." He was referring to the time Gohan's mother Chi-Chi had come over to visit while he and Videl were engaged in other activities.  
  
Before the younger man could get over his surprise at the older's retort (which was a rarity coming from him) and form one of his own, Pu'ar walked into the room. "Oh, hey Gohan. I thought I heard you."  
  
"Hey Pu'ar. How are ya doing?"  
  
"I'm fine. You?"  
  
"Doing OK." Gohan paused for a moment. "Um...can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Sure," she said, taking a seat next to the two half-Saiyans on the couch. "What is it?"  
  
"How do you like being human?"  
  
She laughed. "It's certainly different. For one thing, my feet actually touch the ground most of the time nowadays, so I don't have to concentrate on flying. On the other hand, I'll admit that clothes took a little bit of getting used to, but Bulma helped out there." All three gave a small laugh. "And after all these years, finally being able to really return all the hugs that Yamcha gives is great."  
  
"Speaking of Yamcha, everything with him going well?"  
  
She nodded. "Very well. If I'd known that he'd fall in love with me, I would have changed shape to a human permanently years ago. As it is, it's the best thing I've ever done. I just wonder..." She trailed off.  
  
"Wonder what?"  
  
"Wonder if we'll have any kids. I'd like to have at least one. Plus the look on Goku and Bulma and Oolong's faces would be hilarious to see." As they all laughed again, Jennifer entered the room, briefcase in hand. After everyone exchanged greetings, Gohan rose. "I'm just gonna run Kasaiyoku here back to her room." He walked down the hall, found her room (right across from Raditz and Iroke's) and placed her gently into her crib. To his surprise, she stayed asleep. He then returned. When he got back, Jennifer and Mirai had just finished explaining the case to Pu'ar.  
  
"Any new developments?" he asked as he sat back down. The lawyer nodded (and gave him a small frown for taking the only available seat near Mirai).  
  
"I've got most of the necessary papers written and forms filled out. I just need to know when you and Videl want to officially file suit."  
  
"Well, when can you handle the case?" Jennifer opened the briefcase and rummaged through some papers until she found one with a list of dates. "Any of these."  
  
Gohan examined the list. "Videl's over at her father's house...I'll give her a call and see which of these we can make."  
  
As he walked into the kitchen to use the phone, Pu'ar turned to Mirai and Jennifer. "You two still getting along?" They looked at one another for a moment. Then Mirai got up, walked over to Jennifer, and sat on her lap. They began kissing.  
  
"Well I guess that answers my question." At this moment, Gohan re-entered the room and didn't bat an eye at what he saw.  
  
"Videl likes the one two weeks from now."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Jennifer responded as she separated her lips from those of her fiance. "There hasn't been any trouble at college because of this whole situation, has there?"  
  
Gohan sighed. "A couple of the other students are mad at Videl, and I think some of the professors are jealous of me. Other than that, no."  
  
"Good. Once I get some more details, I'll give you the specifics about the court date. Until then, good luck teaching."  
  
"Thanks, and thanks again for doing this. Talk to you all later." He placed two fingers to his forehead and promptly disappeared. Pu'ar arose from her seat.  
  
"I've got to go meet Yamcha. You two just get back to what you were doing." She smiled and left. Jennifer looked at Mirai, still perched on her lap.  
  
"Everyone else gone?"  
  
"Yep, we got the place to ourselves."  
  
She grinned. "You know what these are the perfect conditions for."  
  
"I know, and no."  
  
"Heh. Good, I can keep teasing you about it."  
  
***  
  
The next week, Itachi Nukeana, the college staff member who had threatened Gohan and Videl with a breach of contract suit, wasn't very surprised to receive notice that he'd been sued himself. Indeed, he'd half been hoping it.  
  
Well, they wouldn't be able to win. He'd get his revenge on Son Gohan yet for his crimes... 


	4. Beginnings

"Rise for the honorable Judge Hangan!"  
  
"Be seated," said Ginpatsu Kouhei Hangan as he entered the court. The judge was a silver-haired man of advanced years who, to Gohan and Videl at least, projected wisdom and dignity. He sat down behind his bench, adjusted his glasses, and peered at a piece of paper.  
  
"Let's see, today we will be hearing the case of...Son vs. Nukeana. I assume we all know the basic facts of the case. Does either counsel have any requests before opening statements begin?"  
  
"Yes, Your Honor." Itachi Nukeana, who was acting as his own attorney, rose. "I ask the court to issue a restraining order forbidding Mrs. Son from leaving her husband's class until this trial is concluded."  
  
Judge Hangan nodded. "So granted. Anything else?"  
  
It was Jennifer's turn to rise. "Your Honor, my clients and I have two requests to make. First, that an order be placed on Mr. Nukeana forbidding him from arranging the details of next year's curriculum. Second, that the tenure hearing of one of my clients be frozen, so that it would not be unduly affected by current events. Both to last until this trial's conclusion."  
  
"Both granted." Jennifer shot a quick, nasty glance at Nukeana, who apparently had been anticipating neither request. "Is counsel for the plaintiff ready to present her opening statement?"  
  
"I am. Your Honor..." As she launched into her opening statement, Gohan and Videl looked at each other, just a tad nervously, and clapsed hands.  
  
Jennifer's statement is too long to reproduce here in full, so I'll summarize. The essence of her opening statement ran thus: While the rules of the college *could* be interpreted as allowing a breach-of-contract suit (the first thing every law student learned was to make a concession or two), that was only if you played fast and loose with much of the language. Further, expecting a college professor to teach his own wife was an exercise in insanity; indeed, in wickedness. Not only did it have the definite possibility of causing marital strife, but it would damage both of their reputations. Henceforth, they were suing Nukeana for intentional infliction of emotional distress.  
  
"I think I did all right," she whispered as she sat back down.  
  
"All right?" Gohan replied. "You did excellent. He should award us the case on that speech alone. Great job."  
  
Judge Hangan, who seemed not quite as impressed, nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Bengoshi. Mr. Nukeana, are you ready?"  
  
The weaselly little man nodded. "Yes, Your Honor, I am."  
  
***  
  
Mirai leaned back in a Capsule Corp. recliner and blew air out of his mouth in frustration. He was bored. Very bored. Incredibly bored.  
  
He was bored of being bored.  
  
As a half-Saiyan, he couldn't fight all the time, like his father or Goku or Turles or Broli or any of the various full-bloods. He had the fighting compulsion, yes, but not to nearly the same degree. His main source of pleasure was, of course, Jennifer (not like THAT, he corrected himself hurriedly, not yet) but she was always busy during the day. He recalled her sweet voice whispering both sarcastic witticisms and professions of love in his ear, her soft touch around his waist as they held each other tight, the feel of her lips on his as they interlocked tongues--  
  
ANYWAY. She wasn't an option until the evenings. What else was there...  
  
Even with all the channels that Capsule Corporation received, there wasn't too much good on television during the afternoon. And he just couldn't sit around all day, fighting and watching TV. He had to do something more fulfilling. This must have been what Gohan felt, he realized suddenly, to make him become a professor. After all, as first boyfriend, then fiance, and now husband to Videl Satan, he didn't need the money. He did it to have something to do. The same for being the Great Saiyaman; sure, it satisfied his need to do good, but it also was a way to pass the time. And Mirai needed to do the same.  
  
He had to find a job.  
  
Now THERE was something he never thought he'd want to do.  
  
***  
  
Jennifer grinned as Itachi Nukeana sat back down. Though his statement had contained a few good points, it had been a bit rambling and pointless. Just the kind of thing she'd seen before in people who represented themselves.  
  
"Thank you for that lucid statement, Mr. Nukeana," said Judge Hangan. "Now, on--" He was cut off as one wall of the court exploded. As the smoke cleared, no one appeared seriously hurt. A figure stepped into the room.  
  
"I am General Sairai!" said the figure dressed in a crisp military uniform. "I am the leader of the New Red Ribbon Army, and I have come to--"  
  
"Red Ribbon Army, you say?" asked Gohan. "I know a veteran of the old Red Ribbon Army who I'm sure would love to help your cause."  
  
"You do? Where can I find this person?" The professor stated some directions. "Excellent. I shall go recruit them. Be warned, you haven't seen the last of General Sairai!" He stalked back the way he came.  
  
"Trust me on this," Gohan said, grinning at everyone who was looking at him enigmatically.  
  
***  
  
General Sairai stood at attention, in front of a small house on a tropical island. The door he had knocked on a few moments ago opened, to reveal an attractive blonde woman.  
  
"May I help you?" Her tone of voice indicated that by no means did she want to.  
  
"Are you the one called Juuhachigou?"  
  
"Yes, that's me."  
  
"Excellent. I am General Sairai from the New Red Ribbon Army, and--"  
  
"Ah. Say no more." She grabbed him by his shirt and, one-handed, threw him far off the island. "Damn Red Ribbon idiots."  
  
***  
  
"Due to the partial destruction of the courtroom," said Judge Hangan, "This court will recess for one week. Court is now in recess!"  
  
As Gohan, Videl, and Jennifer left, a figure darted into a doorway. It must not be seen by them, not yet... 


	5. Tests

"OK class, put all your books and papers away." It had been one week since the courtroom had been ruined, and three weeks in all since class had started. They'd covered the first couple of chapters in the biology textbook, and now Gohan was passing out their first test. He was careful not to directly hand a test to Videl. When he was done, he sat back down at his desk.  
  
What few members of the class hadn't known that the professor's wife was among them knew now, thanks to the publicity caused by General Sairai's dramatic entrance. As they took the test, they snuck glances at her whenever they could. She didn't seem to be blasting through it like much of the class had secretly suspecting she would; indeed, judging from the way she was clicking her pen and tapping her fingers, she wasn't doing much better than the rest of them.  
  
As the class went on, some of the students finished the test, walked up to Gohan and handed them in. Others, including Videl, stayed until the time was up and he collected them all.  
  
That wasn't a good sign.  
  
***  
  
That night, Mirai and Jennifer visited their house and had dinner with them. As they ate, the conversation around the table naturally turned to the case (whenever the half-Saiyans' mouths weren't full).  
  
"Believe it or not, this delay is actually a good thing for our side," said Jennifer.  
  
"How so?" asked Gohan.  
  
"Because, this extra time means more that you have to teach Videl more."  
  
"Dunno if *I'd* call that a good thing," Videl muttered.  
  
The lawyer chuckled. "Well, it means that there's more evidence and first-hand experience for us to use as proof that a professor should not be forced to teach his or her spouse. So while it may cause some added stress, ultimately it'll boost our case." Mirai patted her on the leg, underneath the table in the dining room.  
  
"I told you she's smart," he said. "So why she chose to get engaged to me I'll never quite understand." She gave him a light slap, and everyone laughed. Videl, however, suddenly stopped and went pale. She looked quite nervous.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I just thought of something," she said, her voice shaking. She turned to face Gohan. "One of the things I definitely remember from one of the chapters the test was about...is that when you have a hybrid of two different species...like you or Mirai...they're pretty much always unable to have children." Mirai and Jennifer's eyes widened. Gohan, however, seemed unshaken; he continued to calmly drink from his glass.  
  
He finally sat it down. "Oh yes, I know that. I realized that a couple of years ago, so I tested myself. Damned if I know how or why, but I'm fine." He looked at Mirai. "Same for you."  
  
The former time-traveller started. "What? How would you know about *me*?"  
  
"Simple. Remember when, just after you two got engaged, I asked all three of you to donate some biological samples as part of an experiment I was doing on city living versus suburbia? I wasn't. I made the whole thing up as an excuse. I wanted to make sure that you, like me, were fine."  
  
"So we're--"  
  
"Both as fertile as you can get," the scholar finished, grinning. "So that makes your 'little brother' Trunks fine too. When Goten gets older I'll check him too, though I'm sure he's fine, because apparently the normal hybrid problem doesn't apply to part-Saiyans. And while I was at it, I checked you two also." He pointed to Videl and Jennifer. "You're also fine. So, believe it or not, we've just gotten lucky. Children will come, trust me."  
  
"Yeah, *you're* lucky," said Mirai. "Knowing MY luck, she'll get pregnant the night we're married." The Sons were mildly surprised that he was that frank.  
  
"Oh, come now," replied Jennifer. "Not even your luck is that bad. It won't happen till we get back from the honeymoon. And besides, don't you want your father to stop irritating you?" She said, "'Well, brat, when I can expect grandchildren?'" in a fairly decent imitation of Vegeta's voice, and the others cracked up laughing.  
  
"Wait," said Videl once she'd recovered, "Even if something HAD been wrong, couldn't you have just summoned the dragon and asked it to fix things?"  
  
Gohan blinked. "Damn, you're right. I've slipped into scientist mode so much lately that I've forgotten we can do things like that." He shook his head sadly at his own forgetfulness, and the others laughed again.  
  
***  
  
They all talked for another few hours, then Mirai and Jennifer rose, thanked their friends for the dinner and conversation, and left.  
  
"So," asked Videl when they were gone, "Want to work on those kids?"  
  
"I'm tempted to, just for the look on my mother's face when one finally does come on the way, but I gotta grade these tests."  
  
"It's just Friday night, you got all weekend."  
  
"Yeah, but if I got them all done tonight, we got all weekend...to ourselves." He gently took her face in his hands. "And then we can work on a kid all you want, eh?" He gave her a brief kiss.  
  
"Oh, very well...you drive a hard bargain."  
  
***  
  
Several hours later, Gohan sat at the dining room table, the lights dimmed as much as they could be. He'd graded nearly all the tests, and there was only one to go.  
  
He'd been staring at it for more than half-an-hour. The same litany had been running through his head the whole time. *I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.* Repeat.  
  
He glanced briefly at another student's test. This student had missed the same number of questions as Videl had. It was covered in so much red ink, it looked like his grading pen had bled to death on it.  
  
He'd already had several late-night snacks, so he couldn't use that as a reason to put off grading this test. He supposed he'd better buckle down and get it over with. Hesitantly, he picked up his red grading pen.  
  
*I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.*  
  
Repeat.  
  
***  
  
He finished grading it, placed all the tests in his briefcase, and crawled into bed with Videl, who murmured slightly and made room. He pulled the covers back over them both.  
  
*I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.* He kept thinking this until he finally dropped off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
Monday morning. Class had ended, and Gohan's back was against the wall.  
  
Literally. He was pressed flat against it as Videl, her test in one hand, stood before him, the expression on her face resembling a mixture of astonishment and anger that had been run through a blender several times.  
  
"I-is there a problem?" he asked meekly.  
  
"You gave me a....me a..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. Gohan's feet instinctively backpedalled, trying desperately and futilely to place more distance between their owner and his wife. He sank down the wall a foot or so, his head now below hers.  
  
"Er...you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?" he said desperately, adjusting his spectacles.  
  
She sighed, and Gohan was inwardly relieved; he could hear a melting in that sigh. "You know as well as I do that you only wear those glasses to make you look smarter." She added to herself, *As a matter of fact, all they actually do is make you look slightly goofy, but I care for and love you too much and don't have the the heart to tell you that.* She looked down at her husband. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."  
  
"...You aren't?"  
  
"No. I didn't study enough, and this was the result. And if you'd tried to bend the rules for me, that would have been wrong." She gave him a hand up. "Besides, there's one upside to all this."  
  
"There is?"  
  
"Just like Jennifer said...this is definite evidence that teaching your spouse is wrong." They laughed. 


End file.
